IX.
 

Moreover, on another occasion the handmaid of Christ, Elizabeth, was praying, and in her prayer was considering with devout mind how the Blessed Virgin used to pray, according to her own revelation, as described before. The Blessed Virgin replied to her, "In praying, daughter, I was acting like a man who wants to construct a beautiful fountain from scratch. First he goes to the foothills of the mountain beneath which water wells up, and he listens carefully to discover in which area there are streams of water flowing through. When this has been investigated through hearing, he immediately begins to excavate in that part of the mountain until he finds the headspring of the welling streams. Then he channels the water to the site of the fountain. He makes the site wide, beautiful, and sparkling clean, so that the water there will be always kept pure and bright. After that, he constructs a wall around the fountain and sets up a stone column in the middle of the fountain, making spouts all around it through which the water may freely flow on every side. And the water is available for people to drink. This is what I did, spiritually speaking.
 

"For I went to the mountain when I carefully listened to and learnt the Law of Moses and all the commandments of the Decalogue. Then I discovered the stream of water when, through reading, meditating, and praying, I learnt that the headspring of all goodness was to love God with all one's heart, all one's soul and all one's strength. Then I channelled the water to the site of the fountain when I conceived a firm desire of loving all that God loves, and hating all that he hates. Then I did indeed keep the water sparkling clean and bright when I was zealous to protect the desire of my heart and the emotions of my lower nature, keeping them unharmed from all defilement of sin. Then I constructed a wall around the fountain when I took care to protect unharmed all the virtues and especially humility, patience, and kindliness, together with faith, hope, and charity, right to the end of my life. Then I set up a column and inserted spouts in it when I gave myself as model and source of help for all those who loved me and wanted to cleave to me, always ready to stand by them and offer them the water of divine grace to drink.
 

"All those things, daughter, did God fulfill in me, and he gave me as a model to the entire human race so that not a single one might be excused. For anyone who wants to follow me and yield to my advice will find grace at my hands and salvation. And you should know for certain, daughter, that anyone who does not love me will not be able to find grace from my Son or, consequently, from the Holy Spirit. And so, dearest daughter, I tell you these things so that you may learn to seek grace from God in prayer with faith and humility, as you know that I did, from what has been said. For without prayer it is impossible to obtain God's grace.
 

"However, virtues and graces are not distributed by God to all alike, because people do not all alike know how to request from God with faith and humility in prayer, and to protect when they do obtain them. So people ought to encourage each other in prayer, so that one may share with another what God has given him, and may receive from others what he does not himself have. Hence I wish, daughter, that you should pray punctiliously not only for your own salvation but also for that of others. For by these means shall grace be increased both for you and for others, and your prayers will be fruitful."